Week 2 Story: Don't Take Anyone for Granted
Don't Take Anyone for Granted
From Indian Fables and Folklore by Shovona Devi. Web Source.
There was once a young man named Gautama, who even though
was a Brahmin, gave such disgrace to the name that no one ever sought to think
of him again. Gautama would misuse his “Brahmin” identity to such an extent, that
the common man would offer him food in return for his blessings.
It was the middle of the winter in Himanchal Pradesh and temperatures
were reaching close to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Gautama realized that he was in immediate
need for some hot food and warm clothes. He noticed no other soul nearby, so
he decided to go to the next village. As he trudged through the 2 feet of snow,
he noticed a young boy walking by.
As Gautama approached the young boy, he realized he was a
thief - but the thief had a change of heart - and asked Gautama “Why don’t you
accompany me to my village, where you will have an unconditional amount of warmth
and goods?”.
Gautama saw nothing wrong to it and decided to follow his
new companion. As days went by, Gautama had inherited all the undutiful traits
of a Brahmin. To fulfill his undying hunger, he would go out to kill animals -
these animals were now his three meals a day. Oblivious to his actions, his
continued efforts of defiance came to a halt one day.
While roasting a piece of meat over a fire pit; he saw one
of his fellow Brahmins. Little did he know, the Brahmin noticed Gautama and
muttered under his breath while walking away, “What a shame! A Brahmin indulging
in meat?”.
Gautama had a sudden thought. “I should go back to my village;
I am missing my fellow Brahmins”. He left in the dawn of night. He followed a
pair of fresh footprints in the snow as he returned to his village. Thirty minutes
in, Gautama felt a sudden dizziness and decided to take rest before he continued
his trek. The tree he rested beneath belonged to a Crane.
This Crane was very much delighted to have a visitor and
decided to protect him at all costs. The Crane had a unique talent that no other
crane had – the ability to build fires with its breath. So, with a fire around
to protect Gautama, the Crane peacefully went to bed.
The next morning Gautama woke up to the chirping of the
birds. He was startled to find not only a beautiful white crane in the tree above
him, but a fire that surrounded him. As he stumbled to get up the Crane woke up
hastily, “Please do not leave with empty pockets. I do not have anything to
give but protection, please visit my good friend Viru-Paksha”.
Gautama went along to meet Viru-Paksha, and as promised, he
was provided with so much gold he was stumbling to carry it back to the Crane’s
tree. With all this travel Gautama began to grow an appetite. He came to an appalling
conclusion – to kill the crane - the crane who offered him nothing but
protection and wealth.
Viru-Paksha came to find out that the Crane was no more. Noticing
the fresh footprints in the winter snow, Viru Paksha concluded that Gautama had
killed the Crane. Viru-Paksha demanded that Gautama be killed that instance and
fed to the animals of the forest.
Viru-Paksha begged the animals to eat the flesh of Gautama,
but no animal was willing too. All the animals cried out “Under no circumstances
will we eat the flesh of an ungrateful human being”.
Being ungrateful and misusing your identity will have a long-lasting impression on all members of society, no matter who you are.
Author’s Note: In this version of the story I decided to place the characters in Himanchal Pradesh – a state in Northern India. I also decided to make the environment “colder” by adding snow and lower temperatures. In this story the Crane had a power of being able to breathe fire to protect others. The character Viru-Paksha was the one who found the Crane, rather than his messenger.
Hi Aarushi! I love your version of this story — you write very well. This story has a great moral, and I think you did a great job capturing it's essence. I think changing the environment to a colder climate was a good addition along with giving the crane fire breath to protect. It made me feel more sympathetic to the Crane, and I was saddened by his death. Great job!
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ReplyDeleteHi Aarushi, your version of the story speaks many truths! It's a shame that I know many people who could benefit from the morals this story tells, as ungratefulness is far too common amongst spoiled college students. It was sad to read about Crane's death since he tried his best to help Gautama. Good job writing this story, keep it up!
ReplyDeleteWow! I really enjoyed this story Aarushi. It’s really impactful and shows how greed and ignoring one’s responsibilities can be very destructive in the end. I like how the climax shows how cruel the main antagonist can be. Gautama’s hunger pushed him to kill his friend, the Crane, but it eventually came back as he was despised by others. Overall, it’s a great story!
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